By The annual percentage change for average UK house prices was 4.1% in the 12 months to March 2023, compared with 5.8% in the 12 months to February 2023.
The average UK house price was £285,000 in March 2023, which is £11,000 higher than 12 months ago, but £8,000 below the recent peak in November 2022.
Average house prices increased over the 12 months to £304,000 (4.1%) in England, to £214,000 in Wales (4.8%), to £185,000 in Scotland (3.0%) and to £172,000 in Northern Ireland (5.0%).
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average UK house prices decreased by 1.2% between February 2023 and March 2023, while average UK house prices increased by 0.5% during the same period 12 months ago.
Annual house price inflation was highest in the South West where prices increased by 5.4% in the 12 months to March 2023. London was the English region with the lowest annual growth, where prices increased by 1.5% in the 12 months to March 2023.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS’) March 2023 UK Residential Market Survey reported a fall in demand.
When disaggregated, the downturn in buyer demand remains widespread across the UK, with virtually all regions/countries posting a negative reading in the latest returns
The Bank of England’s Agents summary of business conditions 2023 Q1 reported a modest pick-up in secondary market activity and requests for valuations, but said that demand was broadly equal to the supply of properties available.
The UK Property Transactions Statistics showed that in March 2023, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions of residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 89,560.
This is 18.9% lower than 12 months ago (March 2022).
Between February 2023 and March 2023, UK transactions increased by 1.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The Bank of England’s Money and Credit March 2023 release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases, an indicator of future borrowing, significantly increased to 52,000 in March 2023, from 44,100 in February 2023, yet remains below the monthly average for 2022 of 62,700.
England
In England, the March data shows that, on average, house prices have fallen 1.5% since February 2023.The annual price rise of 4.1% takes the average property value to £304,193.
The regional data for England indicates that:
- No region saw a monthly price rise. The South East experienced the smallest monthly fall with a movement of -0.4%
- the West Midlands saw the most significant monthly price fall, with a movement of –4.0%
- the South West experienced the greatest annual price rise, up by 5.4%
- London saw the lowest annual price growth, with an increase of 1.5%
Price change by region for England
| Region | Average price March 2023 | Annual change % since March 2022 | Monthly change % since February 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | £246,092 | 4.9 | -1.2 |
| East of England | £351,898 | 3.9 | -2.0 |
| London | £523,325 | 1.5 | -1.7 |
| North East | £156,912 | 4.0 | -1.6 |
| North West | £211,759 | 5.2 | -1.3 |
| South East | £394,543 | 4.6 | -0.4 |
| South West | £326,035 | 5.4 | -0.6 |
| West Midlands | £245,132 | 3.4 | -4.0 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £203,635 | 4.1 | -2.1 |
Repossession sales by volume for England
The lowest number of repossession sales in January 2023 was in the South West.
The highest number of repossession sales in January 2023 was in the South East.
| Repossession sales | January 2023 |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | 4 |
| East of England | 6 |
| London | 12 |
| North East | 12 |
| North West | 13 |
| South East | 14 |
| South West | 1 |
| West Midlands | 7 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 10 |
| England | 79 |
Average price by property type for England
| Property type | March 2023 | March 2022 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £483,994 | £459,987 | 5.2 |
| Semi-detached | £292,617 | £279,591 | 4.7 |
| Terraced | £244,965 | £237,899 | 3.0 |
| Flat/maisonette | £249,779 | £241,496 | 3.4 |
| All | £304,193 | £292,146 | 4.1 |
Funding and buyer status for England
| Transaction type | Average price March 2023 | Annual price change % since March 2022 | Monthly price change % since February 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £284,384 | 3.9 | -1.5 |
| Mortgage | £314,028 | 4.2 | -1.5 |
| First-time buyer | £251,841 | 3.9 | -1.6 |
| Former owner occupier | £349,656 | 4.3 | -1.4 |
Building status for England
| Building status | Average price January 2023 | Annual price change % since January 2022 | Monthly price change % since December 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £418,519 | 12.3 | -1.2 |
| Existing resold property | £302,283 | 6.3 | -0.8 |
London
London shows, on average, house prices have fallen 1.7% since February 2023.
An annual price rise of 1.5% takes the average property value to £523,325.
Average price by property type for London
| Property type | March 2023 | March 2022 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £1,077,639 | £1,059,572 | 1.7 |
| Semi-detached | £684,589 | £666,861 | 2.7 |
| Terraced | £565,247 | £561,293 | 0.7 |
| Flat/maisonette | £435,808 | £429,475 | 1.5 |
| All | £523,325 | £515,591 | 1.5 |
Funding and buyer status for London
| Transaction type | Average price March 2023 | Annual price change % since March 2022 | Monthly price change % since February 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £538,412 | 0.3 | -1.6 |
| Mortgage | £517,818 | 1.8 | -1.7 |
| First-time buyer | £451,730 | 1.6 | -1.5 |
| Former owner occupier | £600,811 | 1.2 | -1.8 |
Building status for London
| Building status | Average price January 2023 | Annual price change % since January 2022 | Monthly price change % since December 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £582,075 | 8.9 | -1.5 |
| Existing resold property | £533,705 | 3.3 | 0.0 |
Wales
Wales shows, on average, house prices have fallen by 0.6% since February 2023.
An annual price rise of 4.8% takes the average property value to £214,174.
There was 1 repossession sale for Wales in January 2023.
Average price by property type for Wales
| Property type | March 2023 | March 2022 | Difference % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £331,364 | £314,626 | 5.3 |
| Semi-detached | £209,424 | £197,942 | 5.8 |
| Terraced | £164,845 | £158,656 | 3.9 |
| Flat/maisonette | £135,001 | £130,183 | 3.7 |
| All | £214,174 | £204,321 | 4.8 |
Funding and buyer status for Wales
| Transaction type | Average price March 2023 | Annual price change % since March 2022 | Monthly price change % since February 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £206,353 | 4.2 | -0.4 |
| Mortgage | £218,650 | 5.1 | -0.7 |
| First-time buyer | £183,813 | 4.7 | -0.6 |
| Former owner occupier | £250,140 | 5.0 | -0.5 |
Building status for Wales
| Building status | Average price January 2023 | Annual price change % since January 2022 | Monthly price change % since December 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £315,748 | 11 | -3.5 |
| Existing resold property | £211,201 | 5.4 | -2.5 |
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank comments:
“UK house price growth continued its return to earth in March following the exceptional growth seen during the pandemic.
At the same time, the reverberations from the mini-Budget are fading although they have not disappeared completely.
Transactions are recovering after hitting their low-point in January and it should be a solid but not spectacular year as the impact of a recovering economy, strong jobs market and record levels of housing equity are kept in check by mortgage rates that are notably higher than 18 months ago.
If stubbornly high inflation keeps interest rates higher for longer, it will increase downwards pressure on prices, which we expect to fall by a few percent this year.
As the political temperature rises ahead of a likely 2024 general election, on paper it should be the most uneventful year for the property market since 2018.”
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, comments:
“This most comprehensive of all the housing market surveys confirms what we have seen elsewhere, even though these figures are a little dated.
Prices are up a bit or down a bit with no significant changes expected over the next few months.
Buyers and sellers are finally shrugging off the worst effects of last September’s mini-Budget, with the market in a better place than it was at the end of last year.
Confidence is slowly returning, particularly as inflation is beginning to fall and expectations grow that interest rates are at or near their peak.”
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, comments:
“Inflation is moving in the right direction, although more slowly than we would want to see and it is unlikely to be enough to stave off another rate rise.
Swap rates rose on the back of the inflation figures this morning and it is likely that more lenders will reprice their mortgages higher.
We have already seen some volatility in pricing in recent days on the back of higher Swaps, which underpin the pricing of fixed-rate mortgages, with Santander and Halifax pulling rates.
Other lenders are repricing upwards at short notice.
Borrowers who are unsure as to whether to take a fixed-rate mortgage now or hold out in the hope of cheaper rates in the future should seek advice from a whole-of-market broker.”
Alex Lyle, director of Richmond estate agency Antony Roberts, comments:
“Much depends on what type of property you are interested in buying in terms of what prices are doing – there is little differential in house prices compared to this time last year while flats are compromised and struggling to achieve the prices they could have done a year ago.
Stock levels are up on this time last year and the majority of houses in the £1.5m-plus bracket are going under offer within three weeks of marketing.
However, we have never known transactions take so long to progress from agreed to exchange as many solicitors find themselves at capacity.
Demand from new buyers is down slightly year-on-year although over the past couple of months we have seen an uptick in enquiries as the weather improves and properties appear at their best.”
Co-founder and CEO of Wayhome, Nigel Purves, comments:
“We saw a turbulent finish to 2022 and a subdued start to this year where house prices are concerned and this is further highlighted by the slower rate of house price growth seen in March.
These cooling market conditions will be welcomed by those struggling to get on the housing ladder, however, house prices still remain some 4.1% higher than they were last year and we are yet to see any inkling that a significant downturn is on the way.
This means that the financial hurdle of a mortgage deposit remains considerably high, not to mention the fact that buyers are also facing far higher borrowing costs.
While it’s expected that today’s reduction in the rate of inflation should help to stabilise the mortgage market, this minor improvement to the affordability of buying will do little to help those firmly priced out of the market to begin with.”
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, comments:
“Today’s figures further highlight the sluggish start to the year with respect to house price performance.
However, things are certainly starting to improve and it will take some time before an uplift in market activity filters through to an increase in the rate of house price growth.
With inflation easing and mortgage rates expected to fall, we should see even more buyers enticed back to the market as we approach what is traditionally the busiest time of year.
As a result, we can expect the slower rate of house price growth seen so far this year to kick up a gear as demand once again starts to exceed the supply of suitable homes on the market.
We expect to see the sleeping giant of the London market start to awaken as the year progresses, having lay largely dormant during much of the pandemic market boom.
We’ve seen strong interest from both domestic and international buyers during the early stages of 2023 and as this interest converts into sales, a boost in market activity should start to drive the capital’s property values skyward.”
Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, comments:
“Having paused for breath following a marathon stretch of record house price growth during the pandemic, we’re now seeing a more measured performance from the housing market, but one we expect will be sustained over the course of the year.
For those buyers currently sitting on the fence, the market is poised to blossom over the spring months and so they are best advised to act sooner, rather than later, before stock levels are depleted.”
Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, comments:
“While house prices have continue to cool on a monthly basis, they are still up annually and so any fears of a property market crash can now be put to bed.
The market has weathered the quieter winter months and emerged from its seasonal slumber in what can be considered fine form, all things considered, with a seasonal uplift in activity expected over the coming months.
There remains a degree of market turbulence and so buyers and sellers should continue to tread with a greater degree of caution, whilst also expecting longer transaction times and a heightened danger of fall throughs.
However, for those who can successfully negotiate these potential potholes, property remains a very sound investment.”
Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, comments:
“As transaction levels reduce, which is what has happened over the past year on the back of lower confidence levels fuelled by rising costs and interest rates, property prices will rise.
We are slowly seeing signs of potential stability in rates and some reduction in inflation as promised by Sunk, which should come to a head towards the end of the year.
This will improve confidence in the market and hopefully increase transaction levels, which should keep prices in check.”
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